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Lt.-Colonel of Guerillas
Jul 14, 2003
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x-com_r1_c1.jpg


Sparks fly everywhere as a young boy with a dirty, black and White 'Yankees' baseball-cap strikes the rusty lock with a long red crowbar. The chest does not move a bit but the lock swings from left to right and back again as the bang of metal on metal resounds trough the dark basement. Trough a hole in the roof, the same place cellar-stairs once stood throws some light in the dark room. A rope bungles from an extended wooden beam, it is clearly worn and a large hook lies motionless on the wet floor.
Another bang deafens the boy but this time the sound is accompanied by a metal crack as the lock falls apart into two halves and falls between the boys legs. Quickly he throws the crowbar on the ground and lifts the heavy lid. Then his leather-gloved hands rumble trough the chest. A torchlight, a notebook, empty. A set of pencils, a map, and a small pile of books. He trows the books out and pockets the torchlight and the pencils before searching for more valuable stuff inside. Matches, a handkerchief and a small set of scales. Then his eyes fall on the cover of a faded book and he takes it out. There is a large X on the cover and besides that he sees a city in rubble, nothing strange for him as he can not remember them different. Nevertheless the cover interest him, because of the frightened men or the strange flying metal object hovering above the rubble. The boy turns his head and shouts:
”Dad, could you please come down here?”

With the agility of a monkey an older man with Grey hair and a large scar on his forehead descends the rope. He places his rifle against a little broken chair in the corner before approaching his son.
”What have you got there Jeremiah?”
The boy shows his father the book and points at the picture before opening it.
”What is it about dad?”
His father razes his eyebrows as he takes the book from his son. Then he kneels and opens it after blowing of the dust.

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”This book tells about the world as it used to be. It tells about the fight of a few brave men fighting to preserve, fighting to save this world. Sadly they where not able to write the ending to the book and I suppose no book will ever be published telling the proper ending. This my boy is the story of the end of the world before you where born.”
The young boy looks at his dad with big curious eyes.
”Will you read it for me dad, please?”

And so they leave for their encampment, a small shelter in an old, ruined hotel. It has been another day of scavaging amongst the ruins. Fortunately they did not meet anyone and so they can retreat to the cellar of the hotel and cook some food to still the hunger in their stomaches. But that evening father would tell his son of the world the little boy has never seen. He would start to tell of a time when all had been so completely different, the time before the end.
 
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CSL_GG said:
I assume you'll name soldiers after forum posters like I've done on a different site. If so, sign me up!

Sorry, not this time :D but, I can think of something incorporating your name in some part of the story.
 
Promising start Singleton

An apocalyspe surely is an interesting premise. I can only wonder what has caused this apocalypse, but im sure i will find out soon enough.

Does the title have a relation to the game Xcom?
 
Fatality_ said:
Wondering the very same thing :confused:
It indeed has to do with X-com and so you will soon see what caused this 'end of the world as we know it'.

I will try another colour which might be better readble.
 
tiger2004 said:
We have some good writers here... nice. :)

Thanks a lot :D And I did not even start yet. (currently working on the first chapter)
 
For the first time in many a year, that was breath taking. I mean oh my god, that was fluffing brilliant, now I mean brilliant, nbot just brilliant, but something beyind brilliant.
 
Sir Humphrey said:
For the first time in many a year, that was breath taking. I mean oh my god, that was fluffing brilliant, now I mean brilliant, nbot just brilliant, but something beyind brilliant.

:) Thanks a lot for your comment. I do not exactly see what was brilliant as it was only a small introduction but thanks anyway.
The next post will come in a few minutes.

Thanks to you all for reading.
 


x-com_r1_c1.jpg


That evening father and son sat down besides the fire in the cellar of Hotel Olympia. It had been a rough day but a satisfying one as they had found many useful things and a few cans of food. Huddled besides his father the boy, Jeremiah looked into the blazing fire and followed the smoke billowing to the ceiling and into the upper floors of the hotel.
Because of the dry wood and the gas which fuelled the fire no smoke left the windows of the upper stories and so no one was warned to their position. Life in the wasteland was hell but Jeremiah and his father had managed so far.

Campfire-743.jpg

Later that evening, after a meagre but well deserved meal the boy took the book he had found that afternoon from his bag.
” Will you read the book for me dad? Tell me what has happened. Tell me what happened when you and mom where still young.”

The older man brushed his fingers trough the hair of his son and then took the book out of his small but worked hands.
”I think you are old enough to learn the story, the fate of mankind. So, I will read it to you and tell you what I know. But, Jeremiah, please remember this is only a book. This is not what I have experienced. I will tell you about that but you have to remember there is more to it than only did. We suffered back then, we suffered a lot.

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The sound of the last words of the first few pages of the book disappeared from the cellar and the father looked at his son whom had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He picked him up and put him on some straw in the corner, covering the boy with two large blankets.
Having done that he sat besides the fire and looked to the book. After a big sigh he put the book at his side, made sure his pistol was underneath his coat and then put his had on it and fell asleep.

The memories of a world now gone where emotional. He would have a hard time telling his son what had exactly happened a dozen years ago. It had been bad, real bad. And only very few had survive this terrible ordeal. Tomorrow he would tell more.
 
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Luckily opera has the zoom feature, but interesting style, and good stuff. (Pretty please make the font just a teeny wee bit larger, with a cherry on top)?
 
Sir Humphrey said:
Luckily opera has the zoom feature, but interesting style, and good stuff. (Pretty please make the font just a teeny wee bit larger, with a cherry on top)?

I am struggling with it at the moment but photobuckets keeps sizing my pics down. I will have them up full size this afternoon anyway but will try to do it in another way....Working on it.
 
no problem. ;)
 
Oranje Verzet said:
Ah ok, cause its hurting my eyes to read it, so it would be superduper if its enlarged.

Fixed :D Thanks to Sapphire.
 
Nice start Singleton, shall be really cool to read an AAR where you fight against Aliens looking forward to read more :)
 
This is something new. Maybe the Aliens will allie with Germany like in they do all the time in Startrek ;)